Apparatus and method for displaying notification in electronic device

ABSTRACT

An apparatus and a method of displaying a notification in an electronic device are provided. The apparatus includes a display unit configured to display a status bar including one or more notification icons, and a controller configured to display notification information including an icon and a number of notifications of an application program for each application program when the status bar is selected.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application is a continuation application of prior application Ser.No. 14/528,442, filed on Oct. 30, 2014, which claimed the benefit under35 U.S.C. § 119(a) of a Korean patent application filed on Oct. 30, 2013in the Korean Intellectual Property Office and assigned Serial number10-2013-0130488, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporatedby reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to an electronic device. Moreparticularly, the present disclosure relates to an apparatus and amethod of displaying a notification in an electronic device.

BACKGROUND

Electronic devices, such as a smart phone, a personal computer, and atablet computer, provide various useful functions to users throughvarious applications. Those devices are evolving into devices withsupport for using various types of information together with a voicecall (telephone) function through the provision of various functions.For example, the electronic device may provide a notification functionof displaying a notification icon for notifying on a status bar that anemail or a message is received or an event is generated when receivingthe email or the message from the outside or including the eventgenerated therein, and displaying a notification list related to thenotification icon when the status bar is selected by a user.

The above information is presented as background information only toassist with an understanding of the present disclosure. No determinationhas been made, and no assertion is made, as to whether any of the abovemight be applicable as prior art with regard to the present disclosure.

SUMMARY

Aspects of the present disclosure are to address at least theabove-mentioned problems and/or disadvantages and to provide at leastthe advantages described below. Accordingly, an aspect of the presentdisclosure is to provide an apparatus and method for a problem arisingfrom different types of notification mixed in the display of thenotification list, in that it is difficult for a user to clearlyrecognize the notification information. Further, when the number ofnotifications exceeds an allowable number of notifications to bedisplayed on a screen of the electronic device, a user mustinconveniently search for notification information by scrolling untilthe desired notification information is found.

An aspect of the present disclosure is to provide an apparatus and amethod of displaying a notification in an electronic device forimproving a user's convenience for notification information.

In accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure, an apparatus fordisplaying a notification in an electronic device is provided. Theapparatus includes a display unit configured to display a status barincluding one or more notification icons, and a controller configured todisplay notification information including an icon and the number ofnotifications of an application program for each application programwhen the status bar is selected.

In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, anapparatus for displaying a notification in an electronic device isprovided. The apparatus includes a display unit configured to display astatus bar including one or more notification icons, and a controllerconfigured to display an icon of an application program, summaryinformation about the predetermined number of notification icons, and adetail extension indicator making a request for extension of the summaryinformation for each application program when the status bar isselected.

In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, a method ofdisplaying a notification in an electronic device is provided. Themethod includes displaying a status bar including one or morenotification icons, and displaying notification information including anicon and the number of notifications of an application program for eachapplication program when the status bar is selected.

In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, a method ofdisplaying a notification in an electronic device is provided. Themethod includes displaying a status bar including one or morenotification icons, and displaying an icon of an application program,summary information about the predetermined number of notificationicons, and a detail extension indicator making a request for extensionof the summary information for each application program when the statusbar is selected.

Accordingly, according to the various embodiments of the presentdisclosure, there is suggested the apparatus and the method ofdisplaying a notification in an electronic device, thereby improvinguser's convenience for the notification information.

Other aspects, advantages, and salient features of the disclosure willbecome apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detaileddescription, which, taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings,discloses various embodiments of the present disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of certainembodiments of the present disclosure will be more apparent from thefollowing description taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a view illustrating a screen on which a notification isdisplayed according to the related art;

FIGS. 2A and 2B are views illustrating a screen on which a notificationis displayed according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 3A and 3B are views illustrating a screen on which a notificationis displayed according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a view illustrating a screen on which a notification isdisplayed according to a third embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method of displaying of anotification in an electronic device according to the first embodimentof the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a method of displaying of anotification in an electronic device according to the second embodimentof the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a method of displaying of anotification in an electronic device according to the third embodimentof the present disclosure; and

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating the electronic device accordingto various embodiments of the present disclosure.

Throughout the drawings, it should be noted that like reference numbersare used to depict the same or similar elements, features, andstructures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description with reference to the accompanying drawings isprovided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of variousembodiments of the present disclosure as defined by the claims and theirequivalents. It includes various specific details to assist in thatunderstanding but these are to be regarded as merely exemplary.Accordingly, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize thatvarious changes and modifications of the various embodiments describedherein can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of thepresent disclosure. In addition, descriptions of well-known functionsand constructions may be omitted for clarity and conciseness.

The terms and words used in the following description and claims are notlimited to the bibliographical meanings, but, are merely used by theinventor to enable a clear and consistent understanding of the presentdisclosure. Accordingly, it should be apparent to those skilled in theart that the following description of various embodiments of the presentdisclosure is provided for illustration purpose only and not for thepurpose of limiting the present disclosure as defined by the appendedclaims and their equivalents.

It is to be understood that the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the”include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.Thus, for example, reference to “a component surface” includes referenceto one or more of such surfaces.

An electronic device according to various embodiments of the presentdisclosure is an easily portable mobile electronic device, and may be,for example, a video phone, a mobile phone, a smart phone, anInternational Mobile Telecommunication 2000 (IMT-2000) terminal, aWideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) terminal, a UniversalMobile Telecommunication Service (UMTS) terminal, a Personal DigitalAssistant (PDA), a Portable Multimedia Player (PMP), a DigitalMultimedia Broadcasting (DMB) terminal, an Electronic (E)-Book, aportable computer (for example, a notebook computer or a tabletcomputer), or a digital camera.

FIG. 1 is a view illustrating a screen on which a notification isdisplayed according to the related art.

Referring to FIG. 1, when an email (for example, in Gmail or an e-mailapplication set by a user), a text message (for example, a shortmessage, a multimedia message, or an instant message), or a game messageis received from the outside or an event is generated, an electronicdevice may display a status bar 103 including at least one notificationicon for notifying of reception of the message or the email, orgeneration of the event as shown on the screen 101.

Further, when the status bar 103 is selected by the user, the electronicdevice may display a notification list 107 as depicted on the screen105. For example, when a gesture is input on the status bar 103, theelectronic device may determine that the status bar 103 is selected.Here, the gesture may be a touch, a double touch, a long touch, a slidedown, or the like. For example, when a slide down is input on the statusbar 103 of the screen 101, the electronic device may determine that thestatus bar 103 is selected. Here, the notification list 107 may displayan icon of a specific application program for providing a correspondingmessage or a corresponding event for each corresponding message or thecorresponding event, and at least one element of notificationinformation including summary information about the correspondingmessage or event, a reception time of the corresponding message, or ageneration time of the event.

Further, the electronic device may execute a specific applicationprogram corresponding to notification information when any one elementof information 109 among one or more elements of notificationinformation included in the notification list 107 is selected by theuser. For example, when notification information corresponding to Gmailis selected as depicted in the screen 105, the electronic device mayexecute the corresponding application program, that is, Gmail, asdepicted in the selection 109. The user can then access the messagewithin the corresponding application, for example, Gmail, as depicted inscreen 111.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are views illustrating a screen on which a notificationis displayed according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIGS. 2A and 2B, when an email (for example, in Gmail or ane-mail application set by a user), a text message (for example, a shortmessage, a multimedia message, or an instant message), or a game messageis received from the outside or an event is generated as depicted in ascreen 201, an electronic device may display a status bar 203 includingat least one notification icon for notifying of reception of the messageor the email, or generation of the event.

Further, when the status bar 203 is selected by the user, the electronicdevice may display a notification list 207 as depicted in screen 205.For example, when a gesture is input on the status bar 203, theelectronic device may determine that the status bar 203 is selected.Here, the gesture may be a touch/tap, a double touch/tap, a long touch,a slide down, or the like. For example, when a slide down is input onthe status bar 203 like the screen 201, the electronic device maydetermine that the status bar 203 is selected.

Here, the notification list 207 may include one or more elements ofnotification information including an icon of a specific applicationprogram providing a received message or a generated event, the number ofnotifications, and a detail open indicator for each application program.Further, the number of notifications represents the number of receivedmessages or the number of generated events for the specific applicationprogram, and the detail open indicator refers to an indicator making arequest for displaying of summary information about the message receivedor the generated event for the specific application program.

Further, when any one among the icon and the number of notifications forthe specific application program among one or more elements of thenotification information included in the notification list 207 isselected by the user, the electronic device may execute thecorresponding specific application program. For example, when the numberof notifications 209 corresponding to Gmail is selected in the screen205, the electronic device may execute the application program, that is,Gmail, as depicted in the screen 213.

Otherwise, when a detail open indicator 211 for a specific applicationprogram is selected among one or more elements of notificationinformation included in the notification list 207, the electronic devicemay display summary information for each notification and a detail closeindicator for the specific application program. Here, the summaryinformation for each notification refers to the summary information forthe received message or the generated event, and the detail closeindicator refers to an indicator making a request for closing of thedisplay for the summary information for each notification correspondingto the received message or the generated event related to the specificapplication program.

For example, when the detail open indicator 211 for Gmail is selected inthe screen 205, the electronic device may display an icon and the numberof notifications 217 of Gmail, a detail close indicator 219, and summaryinformation 221 corresponding to a plurality of received emails relatedto Gmail as depicted in the screen 215.

Further, when a detail close indicator 219 for a specific applicationprogram is selected by the user, the electronic device may displaynotification information for each specific application program withoutdisplaying summary information for each notification for the applicationprogram. For example, when the detail close indicator 219 correspondingto Gmail is selected as depicted in the screen 215, the electronicdevice may display notification information for each application programagain as depicted in the screen 205.

Otherwise, when one element of summary information is selected amongsummary information for each notification for a specific applicationprogram by the user, the electronic device may execute the specificapplication program, and then display data corresponding to the selectedsummary information. For example, when one element of summaryinformation is selected among summary information for each notificationcorresponding to Gmail in the screen 215, the electronic device mayexecute the Gmail application, and then display an email correspondingto the selected summary information as depicted in the screen 223.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are views illustrating a screen on which a notificationis displayed according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIGS. 3A and 3B, when an email (for example, in Gmail or ane-mail application set by a user), a text message (for example, a shortmessage, a multimedia message, or an instant message), or a game messageis received from the outside or an event is generated as depicted inscreen 301, an electronic device may display a status bar 303 includingat least one notification icon for notifying of reception of the messageor the email, or generation of the event.

Further, when the status bar 303 is selected by the user, the electronicdevice may display a notification list as depicted in screen 305. Forexample, when a gesture is input on the status bar 303, the electronicdevice may determine that the status bar 203 is selected. Here, thegesture may be a touch/tap, a double touch/tap, a long touch, a slidedown, or the like. For example, when a slide down is input on the statusbar 303 like the screen 301, the electronic device may determine thatthe status bar 303 is selected.

Here, the notification list may include an icon of a specificapplication program providing the received message or the generatedevent and the number of notifications for each application program.Further, the number of notifications may represent the number ofreceived messages or the number of generated events for the specificapplication program.

Further, when any one among the icon and the number of notifications forthe specific application program is selected among one or more elementsof the notification information included in the notification list 307 bythe user, the electronic device may execute the corresponding specificapplication program. For example, when the number of notifications 307corresponding to Gmail is selected in the screen 305, the electronicdevice may execute the application program, that is, Gmail, as depictedin the screen 311.

Otherwise, when a first gesture is input on one or more elements ofnotification information included in the notification list by the user,the electronic device may display summary information for eachnotification for a specific application program. For example, the firstgesture may be a two-touch slide down. Here, the summary information foreach notification refers to summary information about the receivedmessage or the generated event. For example, when a two-touch slide down309 is input on notification information for Gmail in a screen 305, theelectronic device may display an icon and the number of notifications315 of Gmail, and summary information 317 corresponding to a pluralityof received emails related to Gmail as depicted in a screen 313.

Further, when a second gesture is input on summary information for eachnotification for a specific application program by the user, theelectronic device may display notification information for eachapplication program without displaying summary information for eachnotification for the specific application program. For example, thesecond gesture may be a two-touch slide up. For example, when atwo-touch slide up 319 is input on summary information for eachnotification corresponding to Gmail in the screen 313, the electronicdevice may display notification information for each application programagain as depicted in the screen 305.

Otherwise, when one element of summary information is selected amongsummary information for each notification for a specific applicationprogram by the user, the electronic device may execute the specificapplication program, and then display data corresponding to the selectedsummary information. For example, when one element of summaryinformation is selected among summary information for each notificationcorresponding to Gmail in the screen 313, the electronic device mayexecute Gmail, and then display an email corresponding to the selectedsummary information as depicted in the screen 321.

FIG. 4 is a view illustrating a screen on which a notification isdisplayed according to a third embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 4, when an email (for example, in Gmail or an e-mailapplication set by a user), a text message (for example, a shortmessage, a multimedia message, or an instant message), or a game messageis received from the outside or an event is generated as depicted in ascreen 401, an electronic device may display a status bar 403 includingat least one notification icon for notifying of reception of the messageor the email, or generation of the event.

Further, when the status bar 403 is selected by the user, the electronicdevice may display a notification list as depicted in a screen 405. Forexample, when a gesture is input on the status bar 403, the electronicdevice may determine that the status bar 403 is selected. Here, thegesture may be a touch/tap, a double touch/tap, a long touch, a slidedown, or the like. For example, when a slide down is input on the statusbar 403 like the screen 401, the electronic device may determine thatthe status bar 403 is selected.

Here, the notification list may include an icon 407 of a specificapplication program providing a received message or a generated eventfor each application program, the predetermined number of elements ofsummary information 411 about a received message or a generated eventrelated to a specific application program, and a summary extensionindicator 409 making a request for extension of the predetermined numberof elements of summary information.

Further, the electronic device may execute a specific applicationprogram corresponding to notification information when any one elementof information 411 among notification information for each applicationprogram included in the notification list is selected by the user. Forexample, when summary information corresponding to Gmail is selected ina screen 405, the electronic device may execute the correspondingapplication program, that is, Gmail, as depicted in the screen 413.

Otherwise, when a summary extension indicator for a specific applicationprogram is selected by the user, the electronic device may display anicon 417, summary information for entire notifications 421, and asummary reduction indicator 419 for the specific application program.For example, when the summary extension indicator 409 for Gmail isselected in the screen 405, the electronic device may display the icon417, the summary information for entire notifications 421, and thesummary reduction indicator 419 for Gmail as depicted in a screen 415.

Further, the when the summary information for the entire notifications421 for the specific application program is selected by the user, theelectronic device may execute the specific application programcorresponding to the summary information for the entire notifications.For example, when the summary information for the entire notifications421 corresponding to Gmail is selected in the screen 415, the electronicdevice may execute the application program, that is, Gmail, like thescreen 413.

Otherwise, when the summary reduction indicator 419 for the specificapplication program is selected by the user, the electronic device maydisplay the predetermined number of elements of summary information 411without displaying the summary information for the entire notifications.For example, when the summary reduction indicator 419 corresponding toGmail is selected in the screen 415, the electronic device may displaythe predetermined number of elements of summary information of theemails for Gmail like the screen 405.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method of displaying of anotification in the electronic device according to the first embodimentof the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 5, in operation 501, the electronic device mayidentify whether the displayed status bar is selected by a user. Here,when an email (for example, in Gmail or an e-mail application set by auser), a text message (for example, a short message, a multimediamessage, or an instant message), or a game message is received from theoutside or an event is generated, the status bar may include at leastone notification icon for notifying of reception of the message or theemail, or generation of the event. For example, when a slide down isinput on the status bar 203 like the screen 201, the electronic devicemay determine that the status bar 203 is selected.

When the status bar is selected, the electronic device proceeds tooperation 503, and when the status bar is not selected, the electronicdevice may repeatedly perform in operation 501.

When the electronic device proceeds to operation 503, the electronicdevice may display a notification list, and then may proceed tooperation 505. Here, the notification list may include one or moreelements of notification information including an icon of a specificapplication program providing a received message or a generated event,the number of notifications, and a detail open indicator for eachapplication program. Further, the number of notifications may representthe number of received messages or the number of generated events forthe specific application program, and the detail open indicator refersto an indicator making a request for displaying of summary informationabout the received message or the generated event for the specificapplication program.

In operation 505, the electronic device may identify whether the detailopen indicator for the specific application program is selected amongone or more elements of notification information included in thenotification list by the user.

When the detail open indicator is selected, the electronic device mayproceed to operation 511, and when the detail open indicator is notselected, the electronic device may proceed to operation 507.

When the electronic device proceeds to operation 507, the electronicdevice may identify whether any one among the icon and the number ofnotifications for the specific application program is selected among oneor more elements of notification information included in thenotification list by the user.

When any one among the icon and the number of notifications for thespecific application program is selected, the electronic device mayproceed to operation 509, and when any one among the icon and the numberof notifications for the specific application program is not selected,the electronic device may proceed to operation 505.

When the electronic device proceeds to operation 509, the electronicdevice may execute the specific application program corresponding to theselected icon or the number of notifications. For example, when thenumber of notifications 209 corresponding to Gmail is selected in thescreen 205, the electronic device may execute an application program,that is, Gmail, as depicted in the screen 213.

When the electronic device proceeds to operation 511, the electronicdevice may display summary information for each notification and adetail close indicator for the specific application program, and proceedto operation 513. Here, the summary information for each notificationrefers to the summary information for the received message or thegenerated event, and the detail close indicator refers to an indicatormaking a request for closing of the display for the summary informationfor each notification corresponding to the received message or thegenerated event related to the specific application program.

For example, when the detail open indicator 211 for Gmail is selected inthe screen 205, the electronic device may display an icon and the numberof notifications 217 of Gmail, the detail close indicator 219, andsummary information 221 corresponding to a plurality of received emailsrelated to Gmail like the screen 215.

Then, in operation 513, the electronic device may identify whether adetail close indicator for the specific application program is selectedby the user. When the detail close indicator for the specificapplication program is selected, the electronic device may proceed tooperation 503, and when the detail close indicator is not selected, theelectronic device may proceed to operation 515.

When the electronic device proceeds to operation 515, the electronicdevice may identify whether one element of summary information isselected among summary information for each notification for thespecific application program by the user. When the summary informationis selected, the electronic device may proceed to operation 517, andwhen the summary information is not selected, the electronic device mayproceed to operation 513.

When the electronic device proceeds to operation 517, the electronicdevice may execute the specific application program related to theselected summary information, and then display data corresponding to theselected summary information. For example, when one element of summaryinformation is selected among summary information for each notificationcorresponding to Gmail in the screen 215, the electronic device mayexecute Gmail, and then display an email corresponding to the selectedsummary information as depicted in the screen 223.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a method of displaying of anotification in the electronic device according to the second embodimentof the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 6, in operation 601, the electronic device mayidentify whether a displayed the status bar is selected by a user. Here,when an email (for example, in Gmail or an e-mail application set by auser), a text message (for example, a short message, a multimediamessage, or an instant message), or a game message is received from theoutside or an event is generated, the status bar may include at leastone notification icon for notifying of reception of the message or theemail, or generation of the event. For example, when a slide down isinput on the status bar 303 as depicted in the screen 301, theelectronic device may determine that the status bar 303 is selected.

When the status bar is selected, the electronic device proceeds tooperation 603, and when the status bar is not selected, the electronicdevice may repeatedly perform operation 601.

When the electronic device proceeds to operation 603, the electronicdevice may display a notification list, and then may proceed tooperation 605. Here, the notification list may include an icon of aspecific application program providing the received message or thegenerated event and the number of notifications for each applicationprogram. Further, the number of notifications may represent the numberof received messages or the number of generated events for the specificapplication program.

In operation 605, the electronic device may identify whether a firstgesture is input on one or more elements of notification informationincluded in a notification list by the user. Here, the first gesture maybe a two-touch slide down.

When the first gesture is input, the electronic device may proceed tooperation 611, and when the first gesture is not selected, theelectronic device may proceed to operation 607.

When the electronic device proceeds to operation 607, the electronicdevice may identify whether any one among the icon and the number ofnotifications for the specific application program is selected among oneor more elements of notification information included in thenotification list by the user.

When any one among the icon and the number of notifications for thespecific application program is selected, the electronic device mayproceed to operation 609, and when any one among the icon and the numberof notifications for the specific application program is not selected,the electronic device may proceed to operation 605.

When the electronic device proceeds to operation 609, the electronicdevice may execute the specific application program corresponding to theselected icon or the number of notifications. For example, when thenumber of notifications 307 corresponding to Gmail is selected in thescreen 305, the electronic device may execute an application program,that is, Gmail, as depicted in the screen 311.

When the electronic device proceeds to operation 611, the electronicdevice may display summary information for each notification for thespecific application program, and proceed to operation 613. Here, thesummary information for each notification refers to summary informationabout the received message or the generated event. For example, when thetwo-touch slide down 309 is input on notification information for Gmailin a screen 305, the electronic device may display an icon and thenumber of notifications 315 of Gmail, and summary information 317corresponding to a plurality of received emails related to Gmail asdepicted in the screen 313.

In operation 613, the electronic device may identify whether a secondgesture is input on summary information for each notification for thespecific application program by the user. For example, the secondgesture may be a two-touch slide up.

When the second gesture is input, the electronic device may proceed tooperation 603, and when the second gesture is not selected, theelectronic device may proceed to operation 615.

When the electronic device proceeds to operation 615, the electronicdevice may identify whether one element of summary information isselected among summary information for each notification for thespecific application program by the user. When the summary informationis selected, the electronic device may proceed to operation 617, andwhen the summary information is not selected, the electronic device mayproceed to operation 613.

When the electronic device proceeds to operation 617, the electronicdevice may execute the specific application program related to theselected summary information, and then display data corresponding to theselected summary information. For example, when one element of summaryinformation is selected among summary information for each notificationcorresponding to Gmail in the screen 313, the electronic device mayexecute Gmail, and then display an email corresponding to the selectedsummary information as depicted in the screen 321.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a method of displaying of anotification in the electronic device according to the third embodimentof the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 7, in operation 701, the electronic device mayidentify whether the status bar is selected by a user. Here, when anemail (for example, in Gmail or an e-mail application set by a user), atext message (for example, a short message, a multimedia message, or aninstant message), or a game message is received from the outside or anevent is generated, the status bar may include at least one notificationicon for notifying of reception of the message or the email, orgeneration of the event. For example, when a slide down is input on thestatus bar 403 as depicted in the screen 401, the electronic device maydetermine that the status bar 403 is selected.

When the status bar is selected, the electronic device proceeds tooperation 703, and when the status bar is not selected, the electronicdevice may repeatedly perform operation 701.

When the electronic device proceeds to operation 703, the electronicdevice may display a notification list, and then may proceed tooperation 705. Here, the notification list may include an icon of aspecific application program providing a received message or a generatedevent for each application program, the predetermined number of elementsof summary information about a received message or a generated eventrelated to a specific application program, and a summary extensionindicator making a request for extension of the predetermined number ofelements of summary information.

In operation 705, the electronic device may identify whether the summaryextension indicator for the specific application program is selectedamong one or more elements of notification information included in thenotification list by the user. When the summary extension indicator isselected, the electronic device may proceed to operation 707, and whenthe summary extension indicator is not selected, the electronic devicemay proceed to operation 711.

When the electronic device proceeds to operation 707, the electronicdevice may display summary information for entire notifications and asummary reduction indicator for the specific application program, andproceed then to operation 709. For example, when the summary extensionindicator 409 for Gmail is selected in the screen 405, the electronicdevice may display the icon 417, the summary information for entirenotifications 421, and the summary reduction indicator 419 for Gmail asdepicted in screen 415.

Then, in operation 709, the electronic device may identify whether thedetail reduction indicator for the specific application program isselected by the user. When the summary reduction indicator is selected,the electronic device may proceed to operation 703, and when the summaryextension indicator is not selected, the electronic device may proceedto operation 711.

When the electronic device proceeds to operation 711, the electronicdevice may identify whether the icon, the predetermined number ofelements of summary information, or the summary information for theentire notifications for the specific application program included inthe notification list is selected by the user.

When any one among the icon, the predetermined number of elements ofsummary information, and the summary information for the entirenotifications for the specific application program is selected, theelectronic device may proceed to operation 713, and when any one amongthe icon, the predetermined number of elements of summary information,and the summary information for the entire notifications for thespecific application program is not selected, the electronic device mayproceed to operation 705.

When the electronic device proceeds to operation 713, the electronicdevice may execute the specific application program corresponding to theselected icon, the number of notifications, or the summary informationfor the entire notifications. For example, when the summary informationfor the entire notifications 421 corresponding to Gmail is selected inthe screen 415, the electronic device may execute the applicationprogram, that is, Gmail, as depicted in the screen 413.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating the electronic device accordingto various embodiments of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 8, the electronic device includes a controller 801, adisplay unit 803, an input unit 805, a memory unit 807, a RadioFrequency (RF) unit 809, a data processor 811, and a sound processor813.

Each constituent element will be described. The RF unit 809 serves toperform wireless communication of the electronic device. Moreparticularly, the RF unit 809 includes a wireless transmitter forup-converting and amplifying a frequency of a transmitted signal and awireless receiver for low noise-amplifying a received signal anddown-converting a frequency. Further, the data processor 811 includes atransmitter for encoding and modulating a transmitted signal and areceiver for decoding and demodulating a received signal. Here, the dataprocessor 811 may include a modem and a codec, and the codec may includea data codec for processing packet data and an audio codec forprocessing an audio signal such as a voice.

The audio processor 813 performs a function of reproducing a receivedaudio signal output from the data processor 811 through a speaker SPK ortransmitting a transmitted audio signal generated from a microphone MICto the data processor 811. Further, the input unit 805 includes keys forinputting number and character information and function keys for settingvarious functions, and the display unit 803 displays an image signal ona screen and displays data requested to be output from the controller801. When the display unit 803 is implemented in a capacitive touchdisplay screen type or a resistive touch display screen type, the inputunit 805 may include only the predetermined minimum number of keys andthe display unit 803 may partially replace key input functions of theinput unit 805.

The memory unit 807 includes a program memory and a data memory. Here,the program memory stores a booting and Operating System (OS) forcontrolling a general operation of the electronic device, and the datamemory stores various data generated during an operation of theelectronic device.

Further, the controller 801 performs a function of controlling a generaloperation of the electronic device. For example, when the status bar isselected by the user according to the first to third embodiments, thecontroller 801 may display the notification information about thenotification icon included in the status bar.

In the first embodiment, when an email (for example, in Gmail or ane-mail application set by a user), a text message (for example, a shortmessage, a multimedia message, or an instant message), or a game messageis received from the outside or an event is generated, the controller801 may display the status bar including at least one notification iconfor notifying of reception of the message or the email, or generation ofthe event.

Further, when the status bar is selected by the user, the controller 801may display the notification list. For example, when a gesture is inputon the status bar, the controller 801 may determine that the status baris selected. Here, the gesture may be a touch/tap, a double touch/tap, along touch, a slide down, or the like. For example, when a slide down isinput on the status bar 203 as depicted in the screen 201 of FIG. 2, thecontroller 801 may determine that the status bar 203 is selected.

Here, the notification list may include one or more elements ofnotification information including an icon of a specific applicationprogram providing a received message or a generated event, the number ofnotifications, and a detail open indicator for each application program.Further, the number of notifications may represent the number ofreceived messages or the number of generated events for the specificapplication program, and the detail open indicator refers to anindicator making a request for displaying of summary information aboutthe message received or the generated event for the specific applicationprogram.

Further, when any one among an icon and the number of notifications forthe specific application program is selected among one or more elementsof the notification information included in the notification list by theuser, the controller 801 may execute the specific application program.For example, when the number of notifications 209 corresponding to Gmailis selected in the screen 205 of FIG. 2, the controller 801 may executea corresponding application program, that is, Gmail, as depicted in thescreen 213.

Otherwise, when the detail open indicator for the specific applicationprogram is selected among one or more elements of notificationinformation included in the notification list, the controller 801 maydisplay summary information for each notification and the detail closeindicator for the specific application program. Here, the summaryinformation for each notification refers to the summary information forthe received message or the generated event, and the detail closeindicator refers to an indicator making a request for closing of thedisplay for the summary information for each notification correspondingto the received message or the generated event related to the specificapplication program.

For example, when the detail open indicator 211 for Gmail is selected inthe screen 205 of FIG. 2, the controller 801 may display the icon andthe number of notifications 217 of Gmail, the detail close indicator219, and summary information 221 corresponding to a plurality ofreceived emails related to Gmail as depicted in the screen 215.

Further, when the detail close indicator for the specific applicationprogram is selected by the user, the controller 801 may displaynotification information for each specific application program withoutdisplaying summary information for each notification for the applicationprogram. For example, when the detail close indicator 219 correspondingto Gmail is selected in the screen 215 of FIG. 2, the controller 801 maydisplay notification information for each application program again asdepicted in the screen 205.

Otherwise, when one element of summary information is selected amongsummary information for each notification for the specific applicationprogram by the user, the controller 801 may execute the specificapplication program, and then display data corresponding to the selectedsummary information. For example, when one element of summaryinformation is selected among summary information for each notificationcorresponding to Gmail in the screen 215 of FIG. 2, the controller 801may execute Gmail, and then display an email corresponding to theselected summary information as depicted in the screen 223.

In the second embodiment, when an email (for example, in Gmail or ane-mail application set by a user), a text message (for example, a shortmessage, a multimedia message, or an instant message), or a game messageis received from the outside or an event is generated, the controller801 may display the status bar including at least one notification iconfor notifying of reception of the message or the email, or generation ofthe event.

Further, when the status bar is selected by the user, the controller 801may display the notification list. For example, when a gesture is inputon the status bar, the controller 801 may determine that the status baris selected. Here, the gesture may be a touch, a double touch, a longtouch, a slide down, or the like. For example, when a slide down isinput on the status bar 303 as depicted in the screen 301 of FIG. 3, thecontroller 801 may determine that the status bar 303 is selected.

Here, the notification list may include an icon of a specificapplication program providing the received message or the generatedevent and the number of notifications for each application program.Further, the number of notifications may represent the number ofreceived messages or the number of generated events for a specificapplication program.

Further, when any one among an icon and the number of notifications forthe specific application program is selected among one or more elementsof the notification information included in the notification list by theuser, the controller 801 may execute the specific application program.For example, when the number of notifications 307 corresponding to Gmailis selected in the screen 305 of FIG. 3, the controller 801 may executea corresponding application program, that is, Gmail, as depicted in thescreen 311.

Otherwise, when a first gesture is input on one or more elements ofnotification information included in the notification list by the user,the electronic device may display summary information for eachnotification for a specific application program. For example, the firstgesture may be a two-touch slide down. Here, the summary information foreach notification refers to summary information about the receivedmessage or the generated event. For example, when the two-touch slidedown 309 is input on notification information for Gmail in the screen305 of FIG. 3, the controller 801 may display the icon and the number ofnotifications 315 of Gmail, and summary information 317 corresponding toa plurality of received emails related to Gmail as depicted in thescreen 313.

Further, when a second gesture is input on summary information for eachnotification for a specific application program by the user, theelectronic device may display notification information for eachapplication program without displaying summary information for eachnotification for the specific application program. For example, thesecond gesture may be a two-touch slide up. For example, when thetwo-touch slide up 319 is input on the summary information for eachnotification corresponding to Gmail in the screen 313 of FIG. 3, thecontroller 801 may display the notification information for eachapplication program again as depicted in the screen 305.

Otherwise, when one element of summary information is selected amongsummary information for each notification for the specific applicationprogram by the user, the controller 801 may execute the specificapplication program, and then display data corresponding to the selectedsummary information. For example, when one element of summaryinformation is selected among summary information for each notificationcorresponding to Gmail in the screen 313 of FIG. 3, the controller 801may execute Gmail, and then display an email corresponding to theselected summary information as depicted in the screen 321.

In the third embodiment, when an email (for example, in Gmail or ane-mail application set by a user), a text message (for example, a shortmessage, a multimedia message, or an instant message), or a game messageis received from the outside or an event is generated, the controller801 may display the status bar including at least one notification iconfor notifying of reception of the message or the email, or generation ofthe event.

Further, when the status bar is selected by the user, the controller 801may display the notification list. For example, when a gesture is inputon the status bar, the controller 801 may determine that the status baris selected. Here, the gesture may be a touch/tap, a double touch/tap, along touch, a slide down, or the like. For example, when a slide down isinput on the status bar 403 as depicted in the screen 401 of FIG. 4, thecontroller 801 may determine that the status bar 403 is selected.

Here, the notification list may include an icon of a specificapplication program providing a received message or a generated eventfor each application program, the predetermined number of elements ofsummary information about a received message or a generated eventrelated to a specific application program, and a summary extensionindicator making a request for extension of the predetermined number ofelements of summary information.

Further, the controller 801 may execute a specific application programcorresponding to notification information when any one amongnotification information included in the notification list is selectedby the user. For example, when the summary information corresponding toGmail is selected in the screen 405 of FIG. 4, the controller 801 mayexecute a corresponding application program, that is, Gmail, as depictedin the screen 413.

Otherwise, when a summary extension indicator for a specific applicationprogram is selected by the user, the controller 801 may display an icon,summary information for entire notifications, and a summary reductionindicator for the specific application program. For example, when thesummary extension indicator 409 for Gmail is selected in the screen 405of FIG. 4, the controller 801 may display the icon 417, the summaryinformation for entire notifications 421, and the summary reductionindicator 419 for Gmail as depicted in the screen 415.

Further, the when the summary information for the entire notificationsfor the specific application program is selected by the user, thecontroller 801 may execute the specific application programcorresponding to the summary information for the entire notifications.For example, when the summary information for the entire notifications421 corresponding to Gmail is selected in the screen 415 of FIG. 4, thecontroller 801 may execute the corresponding application program, thatis, Gmail, as depicted in the screen 413.

Otherwise, when the summary reduction indicator for the specificapplication program is selected by the user, the controller 801 maydisplay the predetermined number of elements of summary informationwithout displaying the summary information for the entire notifications.For example, when the summary reduction indicator 419 corresponding toGmail is selected in the screen 415 of FIG. 4, the controller 801 maydisplay the predetermined number of elements of summary information ofthe emails for Gmail as depicted in the screen 405.

Through the aforementioned operations, according to the variousembodiments of the present disclosure, there is suggested the apparatusand the method of displaying a notification in an electronic device,thereby improving user's convenience for notification information.

The device and the method of executing the function in the electronicdevice according to the various embodiments of the present disclosuremay be implemented by computer readable codes in a nontransitorycomputer readable recording medium. The nontransitory computer-readablerecording medium includes all the types of recording devices in whichdata readable by a computer system are stored. As for such a recordingmedium, for example, a Read Only Memory (ROM), a Random Access Memory(RAM), an optical disc, a magnetic tape, a floppy disc, a hard disc, ora non-volatile memory may be used. In addition, the computer-readablerecording medium may be stored with codes which are distributed incomputer systems connected by a network such that the codes can be readand executed by a computer in a distributed method.

In the above description, although a concrete embodiment such as anelectronic device has been described, various modifications may beimplemented without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.Therefore, it will be apparent that the claims of the present disclosureshould be defined by the equivalents of the claims as well as the claimsinstead of the described embodiments.

While the present disclosure has been shown and described with referenceto various embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilledin the art that various changes in form and details may be made thereinwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure asdefined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A portable communication device comprising: awireless communication circuitry; a memory configured to store a messageapplication to provide a message service using the wirelesscommunication circuitry; a touchscreen display; and a processorconfigured to: generate a first notification based at least in part on afirst message received using the message application and a secondnotification based at least in part on a second message received usingthe message application, receive a first user input with respect to afirst portion of the touchscreen display, display, via a second portionof the touchscreen display, a first user interface including a firstindication indicative of the message application, a specified portion ofa first notification, a specified portion of a second notification, anda second indication to extend the first user interface, display thefirst notification and the second notification in the first userinterface in response to a second user input received with respect tothe second indication, identify a third user input received with respectto the first notification or the second notification, display, in asecond user interface corresponding to the message application, thefirst message based at least in part on a determination that the thirduser input is received with respect to the first notification, anddisplay, in the second user interface, the second message based at leastin part on a determination that the third user input is received withrespect to the second notification.
 2. The portable communication deviceof claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to: display, ina third user interface corresponding to the message application, a listof a plurality of messages received using the messaging applicationbased at least in part on a determination that a fourth user input isreceived with respect to the specified portion of the first notificationor the specified portion of the second notification.
 3. The portablecommunication device of claim 1, wherein the processor is furtherconfigured to: display, in the first user interface, a number of aplurality of notifications generated based at least in part on aplurality of messages received using the message application, theplurality of message including the first message and the second message.4. The portable communication device of claim 1, wherein the processoris further configured to: display, in the second user interface,received time information with respect to a corresponding one of thefirst message and the second message based at least in part on the thirduser input, as at least part of the displaying of the first message orthe second message.
 5. The portable communication device of claim 1,wherein the processor is further configured to: replace the secondindication with a third indication to reduce the first user interface,as at least part of the changing.
 6. The portable communication deviceof claim 5, wherein the processor is further configured to: receive, viathe second portion of the touchscreen display, a fourth user input withrespect to the third indication, and display the specified portion ofthe first notification and the specified portion of the secondnotification, in response to the fourth user input.
 7. The portablecommunication device of claim 1, wherein the processor is furtherconfigured to: display identification information related to an externaldevice from which the first message or the second message is received,as part of the first user interface.
 8. The portable communicationdevice of claim 7, wherein the processor is further configured to: as atleast part of the displaying of the identification information, displayfirst identification information related to a first external device fromwhich the first message is received, as part of the specified portion ofthe first notification, and display second identification informationrelated to a second external device from which the second message isreceived, as part of the specified portion of the second notification.9. The portable communication device of claim 8, wherein the processoris further configured to: display a first image corresponding to thefirst external device as at least part of another portion of the firstnotification and a second image corresponding to the second externaldevice as at least part of another portion of the second notification,as at least part of the changing.
 10. The portable communication deviceof claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to: display, asat least part of the specified portion of the first notification or thesecond notification, a phone number or an email address of an externaldevice from which a corresponding message of the first message and thesecond message is received, at least part of summary information of thecorresponding message.
 11. The portable communication device of claim 1,wherein the processor is further configured to: identify a touch input,a multi touch input, a long touch input, a long press input, a scrollinput, a slide input, a pressure input, or any combination thereof, asat least one of the first, second, or third user input.
 12. The portablecommunication device of claim 1, wherein the memory is furtherconfigured to store a specified application being different from themessage application, the specified application to provide one or morecontents to the portable communication device, and wherein the processoris further configured to: display, in a fourth user interfacesubstantially simultaneously displayed with the first user interface, afourth indication indicative of the specified application, a specifiedportion of a third notification based at least in part on an eventoccurred with respect to the specified application, and a fifthindication to extend the fourth user interface, and display the thirdnotification in the fourth user interface in response to a fourth userinput received with respect to the fifth indication.
 13. The portablecommunication device of claim 12, wherein the processor is furtherconfigured to: execute the specified application based at least in parton the third notification, the executing including displaying, via thetouchscreen display, a fifth user interface associated with theapplication, the fifth user interface including information related tothe event associated with the third notification.
 14. A portablecommunication device comprising: a memory configured to store one ormore applications to be executed at the portable communication device; atouchscreen display; and a processor configured to: generate a pluralityof notifications based at least in part on a plurality of eventsoccurred with respect to the one or more application, display, via thetouchscreen display, a first user interface corresponding to theplurality of notifications, the first user interface including a firstindication indicative of the one or more application, specified part ofthe plurality of notifications, and a second indication to extend thefirst user interface, display the plurality of notifications in thefirst user interface, in response to a first user input received withrespect to the second indication, identify a second user input receivedwith respect to at least one notification of the plurality ofnotifications displayed in the first user interface, and execute acorresponding application of the one or more application based at leastin part on the at least one notification, the executing includingdisplaying, via the touchscreen display, a second user interfaceassociated with the corresponding application, the second user interfaceincluding information related to at least one event of the plurality ofevents associated with the at least one notification.
 15. The portablecommunication device of claim 14, wherein the processor is furtherconfigured to: display a specified number of notifications among theplurality of notifications, as at least part of the displaying of thefirst user interface.
 16. The portable communication device of claim 15,wherein the processor is further configured to: determine the specifiednumber of notification based at least in part on occurrence timeinformation related to the plurality of events.
 17. The portablecommunication device of claim 14, wherein the processor is furtherconfigured to: display occurrence time information with respect to theat least one event, as at least part of the displaying of the seconduser interface.
 18. The portable communication device of claim 14,wherein the processor is further configured to: replace the secondindication with a third indication to reduce the first user interface,as at least part of the changing.
 19. The portable communication deviceof claim 18, wherein the processor is further configured to: receive,via the touchscreen display, a third user input with respect to thethird indication, and display the specified part of the plurality ofnotifications in the first user interface, in response to the third userinput.
 20. At least one non-transitory computer-readable recordingmedium storing instructions that, when executed by one or moreprocessors, cause the one or more processors to perform operationscomprising: generating, at a portable communication device includingmemory to store a message application to provide a message service and atouchscreen display, a first notification based at least in part on afirst message received using the message application and a secondnotification based at least in part on a second message received usingthe message application; receiving, at the portable communicationdevice, a first user input with respect to a first portion of thetouchscreen display; displaying, via a second portion of the touchscreendisplay, a first user interface including a first indication indicativeof the message application, a specified portion of a first notification,a specified portion of a second notification, a second indication toextend the first user interface; displaying, at the portablecommunication device, the first notification and the second notificationin the first user interface in response to a second user input receivedwith respect to the second indication; identifying, at the portablecommunication device, a third user input received with respect to thefirst notification or the second notification; displaying, in a seconduser interface corresponding to the message application, the firstmessage based at least in part on a determination that the third userinput is received with respect to the first notification; anddisplaying, in the second user interface, the second message based atleast in part on a determination that the third user input is receivedwith respect to the second notification.